Apparatus for producing clean air

ABSTRACT

Apparatus for producing clean air includes an air supply unit for supplying a downdraft of inlet air; and a rectangular upright frame having vertical upright supports, joint members at the top of the upright supports, and horizontally disposed beams joined by the joint members perpendicularly to one another and defining a horizontal rectangular opening at the top of the upright frame, the beams being formed with respective rows of vertically extending bores, the air supply unit having a housing formed with a rectangular base and including four upright rectangular walls having a rectangular profile frame blocked out at the corners thereof and including four horizontally projecting flange lengths formed with respective rows of vertically extending bores therein, the base of the air supply unit being displaceable with clearance through the horizontal rectangular opening of the upright frame, the projecting flange being engageable with the underside of the beams, respectively, with the bores formed in the beams in alignment with the bores formed in the projecting flange lengths.

United States Patent 1191 Jokiel et al.

[ APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CLEAN AIR [75] Inventors: Theodor Jokiel,Dortmund- Brunningshausen; Karl Bracht, Dortmund, both of Germany [73]Assignee: Ceag Dominit Aktiengellschaft,

Dortmund, Germany [22] Filed: Jan. 31, 1972 [21] Appl. No.: 222,235

[30] Foreign Application Priority Data OTHER PUBLICATIONS Farr CompanyProduct Data Sheet The Farr DF/48 Clean B L r /121 .22? PL? 5- 201.

1451 Aug. '7, 1973 Primary ExaminerWilliam E. Wayner AssistantExaminer-William E. Tapolcal, Jr. Attorney-Arthur E. Wilfond, Herbert L.Lerner et al. [57] ABSTRACT Apparatus for producing clean air includesan air supply unit for supplying 21 downdraft of inlet air; and arectangular upright frame having vertical upright supports, jointmembers at the top of the upright supports, and horizontally disposedbeams joined by the joint members perpendicularly to one another anddefining a horizontal rectangular opening at the top of the uprightframe, the beams being formed with respective rows of verticallyextending bores, the air supply unit having a housing formed with arectangular base and including four upright rectangular walls having arectangular profile frame blocked out at the corners thereof andincluding four horizontally projecting flange lengths formed withrespective rows of vertically extending bores therein, the base of theair supply unit being displaceable with clearance through the horizontalrectangular opening of the upright frame, the p.r0- jecting flange beingengageable with the underside of the beams, respectively, with the boresformed in the beams in alignment with the bores formed in the projectingflange lengths.

5 Claims, 7 Drawing Figures PATENTEB AUG 7197s SHEET 2 0F 4 PATENIED 3.750.558

snmanra PATENTEB AU; H973 SHEET h 0? 4 APPARATUS FOR PRODUCING CLEAN AIRThe present invention relates to apparatus for producing clean air, andmore particularly, such apparatus which includes an air supply unit forsupplying a downdraft of air, and an upright frame.

The apparatus disclosed in German Petty Pat. No. 7,014,152 for theproduction of dust-free and germfree environments in a downdraft systemuses air supply units having bending-proof, closed sheet metal housings,wherein blowers and air filter cells for particles floating in the air,are mounted. They can be brought into the required operating position atthe location of installation thereof, only with an excessively highexpense for installation personnel.

Heretofore, it has been the practice to lift the air supply units eitherwith the aid of an erecting crane if the room is sufficiently high, orwith the aid of at least four men and to shore it up with the aid of afifth man, for example, by means of boxes or the like, and thereforebring the air supply unit up to a height that permits subsequentassembly of the upright frame beneath it. Adequate room height, however,is not always available for accommodating an erecting crane, so that itcannot be used at all, and an air supply unit must be jacked up manuallywith the greatest of difficulties.

It is accordingly an object of the present invention to avoid theaforementioned shortcomings of the heretofore known lifting methods andto provide apparatus for producing clean air in which it is possible tolift the air supply unit uniformly or evenly from below and to elevateit to the top of the upright frame, and threadedly secure it in thatposition to the longitudinal and transverse beams of the upright frame.

With the foregoing and other objects in view, there profile provided, inaccordance with the invention, apparatus for producing clean airincluding an air supply unit for supplying a downdraft of inlet air; anda rectangular upright frame having vertical upright supports, jointmembers at the top of the upright supports, and horizontally disposedbeams joined by the joint members perpendicularly to one another anddefining a horizontal rectangular opening at the top of the uprightframe, the beams being formed with respective rows of verticallyextending bores, the air supply unit having a housing formed with arectangular base and including four upright rectangular walls having arectangular profile frame blocked out at the corners thereof andincluding four horizontally projecting flange lengths formed withrespective rows of vertically extending bores therein, the base of theair supply unit being displaceable with clearance through the horizontalrectangular opening of the upright frame, the projecting flange beingengageable with the underside of the beams, respectively with the boresformed in the beams in alignment with the bores formed in the projectingflange lengths.

The air supply unit is placed on the floor at the location at which itis to be installed vertically overhead and the appertaining supportframe is formed of four supports, two longitudinal beams and twotransverse beams, all of which are connected by insertable or telescopicjoints and threaded fastening devices.

After assembly of the support frame, the air supply unit is liftedbetween the four supports of the support frame up to the longitudinaland transverse beams thereof, in each of which a row of threaded boresis formed. A corresponding row of bores is formed in the profile framesurrounding the air supply unit.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, means are providedfor lifting the air supply unit, which comprise two threaded spindlessuspended at each of two opposite beams and having at the lower endsthereof, which are disposed below the profile frame of the air supplyunit, a nut rotatable, for example, by a ratchet, a washer having anentrainer pin being mounted on the nut. By alternatingly cranking upthis device, the entrainer pin of which is engageable in a respectivebore of the profile frame surrounding the air supply unit, the latter isbrought slowly, and under certain condition by only one man, into theoperating position thereof wherein it is firmly suspended so that it canbe bolted conveniently to the beams.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the inventionare set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as apparatusfor producing clean air, it is nevertheless not intended to be limitedto the details shown, since various modifications may be made thereinwithout departing from the spirit of the invention and within the scopeand range of equivalents of the claims.

The invention, however, together with additional objects and advantagesthereof, will be best understood from the following description whenread in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic perspective view of the apparatus for producingclean air according to the invention;

FIGS. 2a and 2b are enlarged perspective views of two embodiments of thelifting members of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a diagrammatic top plan view of FIG. 1; and

FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c are enlarged perspective views of three differentjoint members shown in FIG. 3.

Referring now to the drawing, and first particularly to FIG. 1 thereof,there is shown an air supply unit 2 which is formed with four uprightrectangular walls 27 and a rectangular base 28 and which has been placedon a floor. Four upright supports 4 have been assembled about the airsupply unit 2 and joints 5 have been inserted into the supports 4 at thetop thereof. The joints 5 are, in turn, connected to each other by thebeams 6 and 7 which are inserted therein and define therebetween ahorizontal rectangular opening 26. The solid line representation of theair supply unit 2 in FIG. 1 is the initial position thereof before it islifted upwardly to its proper installation location, shown by the brokenlines. The complete upright frame is identified by the reference numeral1.

The lifting device of the invention is made up of four screw spindles10.1, 10.2, 10.3 and 10.4 which are suspended in pairs from respectivelongitudinal beams 7 having opposing upper and lower walls 7 and 7respectively, and opposing lateral walls 6' and 6".

FIGS. 2a and 2b show details of different embodiments of such a screwspindle with all necessary appurtenances. At the top, in the upper andlower walls 7 and 7", respectively, of the hollow beam 7, two elongatedholes 19.1 and 19.2 are formed out of which a hammerhead end 8 of one ofthe screw spindles 10 extends, four posts 9 being welded around theupper elongated hole 19.2, the hammerhead 8 being fixed in positionbetween the posts 9 as shown in FIG. I, after the hammerhead 8 is turnedthrough an angle of after it has been slid from below through the hole19.2. The

screw spindle 10 is thereby fixed and secured against entrained rotationand damage. Between a nut 11 which is located below the profile frame 3at the air supply unit 2, and the flange 20 of the profile frame 3 thatis to be engaged, there is disposed a sleeve-like disc 12, mountedcoaxially on the nut 11 and formed with an entrainer pin 15. Thesleeve-like disc 12 has an undercut substantially semicircular portion14 corre sponding to the thickness of the flange 20 that is to beraised, and the flange 20 is engageable therewith so as to be firmlyheld thereby in order to avoid reciprocatory rotary movement of thespindle when the unillustrated ratchet is actuated at the nut 11 forlifting the air supply unit 2. The entrainer pin 15 always engages in ahole 17.1 situated at a suitable location of the securing hole row 16.Through the holes 17.1, 17.2 and the like of the row 16, fasteningbolts, not shown, are threadedly secured in stamped out threaded sleeves18 located at the respective beam, after which the screw spindles 10 areremovable, for example, for re-use in installing additional air supplyunits 2.

In the embodiment of FIG. 2b there is provided a smooth surface spindle21 formed with a longitudinal row of openings 22. The spindle 21 issuspended from one of the two opposite beams 7 (not shown in FIG. 2b)and extends downwardly through the pair of elongated holes 19.1 and 19.2and below the profile frame 3 (see FIG. 2a). A jack is carried by thespindle 21 below the profile frame 3 and includes a pressure plate 23engageable with the profile frame 3. The pressure plate 23 carries anentrainer pin 29 and is undercut a distance corresponding to thethickness of one of the lengths of the flange 20. The pressure plate 23is formed with a diametral cut-out 24 alignable with one of the openings22 formed in the spindle 21, and a support rod 25 is bindingly receivedsimultaneously in the diametral cut-out 24 and the respective alignedopening 22 in the spindle 21.

FIG. 3 illustrates such additional or add-on installation. The overallwidth of the add-on unit of FIG. 3 is always determined by the combinedlengths of two air supply units 2 that are disposed back-to-back, i.e.,with the air grill intake front thereof facing away from one another inorder to take in air therethrough. The two directions in which theadd-on unit is built up are indicated in FIG. 1 by dashed lines, as wellas by the identification of the succeeding transverse beams 6.1, 6.2,and so on, and the longitudinal beams 7.1, and so on. The aggregatelength of such an overall assembly depends upon the number of air supplyunits 2 added by the use of the previously assembled longitudinal beams.In FIGS. 3a, 3b and 3c, the required joints, of necessity in threedifferent embodiments, are again shown in considerably enlarged views.

A simple corner joint is shown in FIG. 3a, a lateral extension joint 5.1in FIG. 3b and an extension joint 5.2 for joining four beams together,is shown in FIG. 30.

For lifting the next succeeding air supply units 2 to the longitudinalbeams, the same elongated holes 19.1 and 19.2 are used as before forpassing therethrough from below, the hammerhead 8 of the screw spindles10. There is no interference with the lifting manipulation of thesucceeding air supply units 2, and the entrainer pin 15 merely changesthe direction of application. Thus, one pair of such screw spindles canalways be left suspended for lifting and securing one side,

respectively, of two air supply units 2. Only the succeeding screwspindle pair must be rehung.

With apparatus for producing clean air according to the invention, newheavy structural units having to do with the maintenance of clean aircan be accommodated and installed at operating locations which,heretofore, were intended only for operating facilities or equipment,such as in laboratories or operating rooms. In clinics, for example, itis impossible to use adequate assembling or assembly equipment includingerection cranes. The invention of the instant application facilitatesespecially the accomodation of air supply units for so-called white" orclean" chambers in hospitals.

We claim:

1. Apparatus for producing clean air comprising an air supply unit forsupplying a downdraft of inlet air; and a rectangular upright framehaving vertical upright supports, joint members at the top of saidupright supports, and horizontally disposed beams joined by said jointmembers perpendicularly to one another and defining a horizontalrectangular opening at the top of said upright frame, said beams beingformed with respective rows of vertically extending bores, said airsupply unit having a housing formed with a rectangular base andincluding four upright rectangular walls having a rectangular profileframe blocked out at the corners thereof and including four horizontallyprojecting flange lengths formed with respective rows of bores therein,said base of said supply unit being displaceable with clearance throughsaid horizontal rectangular opening of said upright frame, saidprojecting flange lengths being engageable with the underside of saidbeams, respectively, with the bores formed in said beams in alignmentwith the bores formed in said projecting flange lengths.

2. Apparatus according to claim 1 wherein at least two of the beamsopposite one another are of hollow construction and are respectivelyformed with opposing lateral walls, on the one hand, and opposing upperand lower walls, on the other hand, said upper and lower walls thereofbeing formed with a pair of elongated holes, and including stop seatingmeans located along one of said pairs of elongated holes.

3. Apparatus according to claim 2 wherein said stop seating meanscomprises a plurality of posts disposed transversely to said oneelongated hole.

4. Apparatus according to claim 2 including a screw spindle suspendedfrom one of said two opposite beams and extending downwardly throughsaid pair of elongated holes and below said profile frame, a nutthreadedly mounted on said screw spindle below the lower edge of saidprofile frame, and a washer carrying an entrainer pin mounted on saidnut, said washer being undercut a distance corresponding to thethickness of one of said flange lengths and being formed with athroughbore through which said screw spindle extends with clearance.

5. Apparatus apparatus according to claim 2 including a smooth surfacespindle formed with a longitudinal row of openings, said spindle beingsuspended from one of said two opposite beams and extending downwardlythrough said pair of elongated holes and below said profile frame, ajack carried by said spindle below said profile frame and including apressure plate engageable with said profile frame, said pressure platecarrying an entrainer pin and being undercut a distance corresponding tothe thickness of one of said flange lengths, said pressure plate beingformed with a diametral cutout alignable with one of the openings fonnedin said spindle and a support rod bindingly receivable simultaneously insaid diametral cut-out and the respective aligned opening in saidspindle.

1. Apparatus for producing clean air comprising an air supply unit forsupplying a downdraft of inlet air; and a rectangular upright framehaving vertical upright supports, joint members at the top of saidupright supports, and horizontally disposed beams joined by said jointmembers perpendicularly to one another and defining a horizontalrectangular opening at the top of said upright frame, said beams beingformed with respective rows of vertically extending bores, said airsupply unit having a housing formed with a rectangular base andincluding four upright rectangular walls having a rectangular profileframe blocked out at the corners thereof and including four horizontallyprojecting flange lengths formed with respective rows of bores therein,said base of said supply unit being displaceable with clearance throughsaid horizontal rectangular opening of said upright frame, saidprojecting flange lengths being engageable with the underside of saidbeams, respectively, with the bores formed in said beams in alignmentwith the bores formed in said projecting flange lengths.
 2. Apparatusaccording to claim 1 wherein at least two of the beams opposite oneanother are of hollow construction and are respectively formed withopposing lateral walls, on the one hand, and opposing upper and lowerwalls, on the other hand, said upper and lower walls thereof beingformed with a pair of elongated holes, and including stop seating meanslocated along one of said pairs of elongated holes.
 3. Apparatusaccording to claim 2 wherein said stop seating means comprises aplurality of posts disposed transversely to said one elongated hole. 4.Apparatus according to claim 2 including a screw spindle suspended fromone of said two opposite beams and extending downwardly through saidpair of elongated holes and below said profile frame, a nut threadedlymounted on said screw spindle below the lower edge of said profileframe, and a washer carrying an entrainer pin mounted on said nut, saidwasher being undercut a distance corresponding to the thickness of oneof said flange lengths and being formed with a through-bore throughwhich said screw spindle extends with clearance.
 5. Apparatus apparatusaccording to claim 2 including a smooth surface spindle formed with alongitudinal row of openings, said spindle being suspended from one ofsaid two opposite beams and extending downwardly through said pair ofelongated holes and below said profile frame, a jack carried by saidspindle below said profile frame and including a pressure plateengageable with said profile frame, said pressure plate carrying anentrainer pin and being undercut a distance corresponding to thethickness of one of said flange lengths, said pressure plate beingformed with a diametral cut-out alignable with one of the openingsformed in said spindle and a support rod bindingly receivablesimultaneously in said diametral cut-out and the respective alignedopening in said spindle.